DEA Agents Get Minor Consequences After Forgetting About Student In Cell For 5 Days

Daniel Chong was left in a cell for 5 days, shackled and without food or water, after a house party raid.

In 2012, CNN interviewed Daniel Chong, who was taken into custody after a drug raid at a house party. The UC San Diego student was never charged with anything, but was held in a cell for five days, in handcuffs without food or water -- He had been forgotten.

Today, LA Times reported that the Drug Enforcement Administration agents involved in the mishap were given reprimands or short suspensions, according to the Justice Department.

The Department of Justice letter said that DEA officials forwarded a report on the incident to a disciplinary board, the Board of Professional Conduct, without conducting its own investigation. The board issued four reprimands to DEA agents and a suspension without pay for five days to another. The supervisor in charge at the time was given a seven-day suspension.

This is not the first time the DEA has been under fire for their weak interdisciplinary procedures. The agents involved in a prostitution scandal in Colombia were given 2-10 day suspensions.

The former DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart announced her retirement on April 22.